Using Smart Growth Techniques as Stormwater Best Management Practices

Communities around the country are adopting smart growth strategies to reach environmental, community, and economic goals. The environmental goals include water benefits that accrue when development strategies use compact development forms, a mix of uses, better use of existing infrastructure, and preservation of critical environmental areas. While the water quality and stormwater benefits of smart growth are widely acknowledged, there has been little explicit regulatory recognition of these benefits to date. Regulations under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater program offer a structure for considering the water quality benefits associated with smart growth techniques. Compliance with federal, state, and local stormwater programs revolves around the use of "best management practices" (BMPs) to manage stormwater. Given the water benefits of smart growth at the site, neighborhood, and watershed levels, many smart growth techniques and policies are emerging as BMPs. The goal of this document is to help communities that have adopted smart growth policies and plans recognize the water benefits of those smart growth techniques and suggest ways to integrate those policies into stormwater planning and compliance. Taking credit for the work a community is already doing can be a low-cost and practical approach to meeting water quality goals and regulatory commitments.